Dense Cut-Out Cookies For Frosting

Don't you just love cut-out sugar cookies? You can do almost anything with them, which makes them perfect for pretty much any occasion, from birthday parties and holidays, to bakes sales or even weddings. We served cut-out cookies at my wedding. The only error we made was underestimating how much people would like them (we needed about 3 times as many as we had, I think!)

I have several recipes for sugar cookies, but I think I have finally settled on this recipe for my "impressive" cut outs. My most yummy, home style faves are still the Sour Cream Cut-Outs that my mom used to make, but this cookie is delicious in it's own, unique way. These Cookies, so cleverly dubbed "Dense Cut-Out Cookies For Frosting" (I'm so darned creative!), bake up nice and flat and dense enough to take on royal icing or any other frosting you can dish out.

Dense Cut-Out Cookies for Frosting

1 C sugar
2 sticks of unsalted butter, cool, not quite room temp, but not straight from the fridge
2 big brown farm eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
dash of salt (only if you use unsalted butter)


Cream butter and sugar. Add egg. Add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients slowly. Pre-heat oven to 350. Roll out in small batches, so as not to work too much extra flour in and turn them tough. Roll them nice and thick so they can stand up to plenty of frosting. Line baking sheet with parchment paper before putting cookies on the sheet. Put baking sheet (with cookies on it), into the freezer for 5 minutes before putting it into pre-heated oven. Bake for 12-14 mins. Do not let them get brown on the edges, just bake until firmly set. Let them cool 5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet. Cool on baking rack. Do not frost until completely cool.


This recipe is adapted from Bridget's sugar cookie recipe from Bake at 350.